At one point, my syrup decided it wanted to grow (aka: boiling upwards),

if you encounter this, just brush the water above the sugar, and you can

even put the temp down a smidge. I kept my temp at med-high the whole time.

Once the syrup hits 240, gently pour the syrup into your stand mixer with the

speed on low - pour in a med-slow, steady flow on the side of the bowl.

Slowly bring the mixer speed up to medium, then high.

For me, this process took a very long time, it seemed… also, I didn't

keep time, since I'm horrible with that part… ha...ha.

I felt like I was stuck in this soft-peak stage for ages… it also didn't help that I was going to

be late for my language class.

Nonetheless, the marshmallows turned out great.

My personal advice, which helps me from becoming impatient: walk away from the mixer for

a couple minutes…unfortunately, staring at the mixture does not bring a stiff peak any sooner...

I added my vanilla at this ribbon-like phase, but the recipe tells you to add it when it's stiff,

which is probably better, but I'm sometimes impatient.

Once your fluffy goodness gets a stiff peak, pour your mixture into a greased, powdered sugar dusted 9x13 pan. Smooth with an offset spatula, and then dust 1/4 cup of powder sugar evenly over the surface. Leave them to firm up, uncovered, for at least 3 hours.

After the dreaded wait, dust a working surface with powder sugar. Use a knife to loosen the edges

of the marshmallows, and using your fingers, gently "dump" the 'mallows out. And dust with powdered

sugar.

Spray your cutting knife with a bit of veg oil, then begin cutting…

Gently toss squares in powder sugar to coat all sides, and then [gently] dust off excess

Lastly, enjoy in your morning coffee…. or hot cocoa for yourself or little kiddos. And thoroughly enjoy the scrumptious, fluffy marshmallows you just made from scratch…

You'll never want a store bought marshmallow again :)

(ps. do you love my Christmas mug?! I'm totally in the Christmas spirit already, with the baking & [Christmas] music/movies! I LOVE Christmas!)

My favorite thing about these gooey yummies, besides how good they taste, is how long they last. As a kid, I always hated how quickly marshmallows melted in my hot chocolate, but these little guys lasted till the very last sip!